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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://mondoweiss.net/2025/12/after-the-rape-the-challenges-of-monitoring-sexual-violence-in-gaza/?ml_recipient=174405115377092384&ml_link=174405071815050329&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=2025-12-21&utm_campaign=Daily+Headlines+RSS+Automation+-+9am">mondoweiss.net</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">After the Rape: The challenges of monitoring sexual violence in Gaza</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Majd Jawad</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">8\u201310 minutes</div>
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<img src="cid:ii_mjg29dyq0" alt="image.png" width="408" height="230"><br><p>
<font size="1">Gaza Community Mental Health Program staff providing psychological
support to displaced children, women, elderly people, and people with
special needs in evacuation camps in Deir Al-Balah and Rafah, in April
2024. (Photo: Gaza Community Mental Health Program/Facebook) </font></p><p>The <a href="https://pchrgaza.org/pchr-documents-testimonies-of-systematic-rape-and-sexual-torture-in-israeli-detention-against-released-palestinian-detainees/">story of N.A.,</a>
a Palestinian woman detained and allegedly raped by four Israeli
soldiers, sent shockwaves through a community already ravaged by war.
Detailed in the shocking report by The Palestinian Centre for Human
Rights (PCHR) last month, N.A.\u2019s story was one of many, revealing the
systematic rape and sexual torture of Palestinian detainees in Israeli
captivity. </p>
<p>Her subsequent refusal to seek follow-up medical care after her
release, retreating back into a circle of silence, highlights a
pervasive and devastating reality in the Gaza Strip. Despite repeated
attempts by human rights organizations to document her case and provide
support, N.A. declined any further interviews, embodying the fear that
paralyzes countless survivors.</p>
<p>\u201cThe cases that do speak to us fundamentally do not feel safe
disclosing their experiences,\u201d says Yasser Abdel Ghafour, deputy head of
the documentation unit at a local human rights center. \u201cThey prefer not
to expand the circle of people who know about their situation, which
would further expose their identity.\u201d</p>
<p>According to Abdel Ghafour, this is not an isolated incident. \u201cWe are
aware of many cases that have endured similar experiences,\u201d he
explains. \u201cWe have approached them repeatedly to share their stories,
but they have flatly refused, believing it would endanger their lives
even more violently. This is especially true for women.\u201d</p>
<h2><strong>Sexual violence as a weapon of war</strong></h2>
<p>Local and international human rights organizations indicate that the
use of sexual violence by occupation forces is not a collection of
isolated incidents but part of a repeated pattern of behavior within
detention centers. While no international body has yet conducted a full
investigation, the recurring patterns in testimonies, especially from
female detainees, reflect a systematic practice of sexual humiliation,
degradation, and identity destruction.</p>
<p>\u201cWhat is required is not just documenting violations, but
establishing a neutral international mechanism to investigate the use of
sexual violence as a weapon of war,\u201d Abdel Ghafour insists. \u201cWhat is
happening to women in detention is part of a widespread and systematic
attack, not individual transgressions by soldiers.\u201d</p>
<p>In a statement, the BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights <a href="https://badil.org/cached_uploads/view/2024/09/23/sexual-violance-brochure-ar-1727095084.pdf">asserted</a>
that Israeli sexual assault must be treated as a political and societal
issue, not an individual one. \u201cAs a political-societal issue connected
to colonial policies of oppression,\u201d the statement reads, \u201cit is akin to
assassinations or the use of extreme force. The victim must not be
isolated or degraded; rather, she should be embraced, her struggle
honored, and all necessary support provided.\u201d</p>
<h2>Persistent threat of retaliation</h2>
<p>For released detainees, the psychological and physical devastation is
immense. The trauma of their experience lingers long after they return
home. <a href="https://pchrgaza.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Torture-and-Genocide-The-Shattered-Futures-of-Former-Palestinian-Detainees-in-Gaza.pdf">One testimony documented</a>
by the PCHR captures this despair: \u201cIn terms of my mental health, I am
not myself anymore. I am talking to you now about my tragedy and I feel
unstable, I cry and laugh at the same time. I have become soulless when I
look at my children and fear that one day they will go through what I
went through. </p>
<p>Another survivor describes her shattered mental state: \u201cThey violated
our dignity and destroyed our spirits and our hope for life. I had
wanted to continue my education; now I am lost after what happened to
me\u201d</p>
<p>According to professionals, despite such profound trauma, very few
survivors seek medical or psychological care. The constant threat of
reprisal from Israeli occupation forces for speaking out prevents them
from fully disclosing their experiences.</p>
<p>This fear is corroborated by the <a href="https://palestine.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/2025-09/Gaza-GBV-Trends-April-May-2025-R.pdf">May 2025 GBV</a>
Trends Analysis: Gaza report from the United Nations Population Fund
(UNFPA), which noted that survivors \u201care often reluctant to name armed
perpetrators due to fear of retaliation.\u201d</p>
<p>This climate of fear extends beyond gender-based violence to all
forms of documentation. Munir al-Bursh, a director within the Gaza
health ministry, confirms this trend to <em>Mondoweiss</em>. He says he
has encountered cases where individuals repeatedly insisted that their
identity and medical details remain confidential, citing direct threats
of revenge from the Israeli occupation if their stories were made
public.</p>
<p>The threat is not limited to survivors. Human rights workers,
monitors, and local civil society organizations\u2014such as PCHR, Al-Mezan
Center for Human Rights, and the Women\u2019s Affairs Center, are also
systematically targeted for their work exposing Israeli crimes. These
organizations, already struggling to operate, face constant intimidation
by Israel.</p>
<p>This includes direct physical attacks, such as the complete <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/05/14/gaza-israelis-attacking-known-aid-worker-locations">destruction of Humanity & Inclusion\u2019s </a>(HI)
office in Gaza City in January 2024, despite its coordinates being
registered with the UN\u2019s notification system. Human Rights Watch (HRW)
has also documented at least eight Israeli strikes on aid worker convoys
and premises, even after their locations were provided to Israeli
authorities.</p>
<h2>Silent hotlines</h2>
<p>While reported cases of rape and sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) remain low, these incidents are severely underreported. <a href="https://palestine.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/2025-09/Gaza-GBV-Trends-April-May-2025-R.pdf">GBV case managers</a>
on UNFPA in Palestine have shared concerning testimonies in task force
meetings and trainings, including cases involving adolescent girls and
women with disabilities raped by family members and strangers.</p>
<p>Despite rape appearing as 0% <a href="http://google.com/url?q=https://palestine.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/2025-09/Gaza-GBV-Trends-April-May-2025-R.pdf&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1763993742482609&usg=AOvVaw3hjd1HzJBYLLv0Pwk7nxIy">in the data</a>,
there has been severe underreporting due to fear of retaliation,
stigma, and lack of awareness about available services and the collapse
of justice system, with survivors not consenting to the recording of
their cases. \u201cMany women prefer silence,\u201d says Zainab Al-Ghunaimi,
director of Hayat Center for the protection of battered women,
considered the primary safe house in Gaza, \u201cnot because their experience
is any less real, but because speaking out can mean exposing themselves
and their families to renewed violence, social ostracism, and practical
ruin.\u201d</p>
<p>This challenge cripples reporting mechanisms. An <a href="https://palestine.unfpa.org/en/publications/gbv-trends-analysis-gaza-june-august-2025?utm_source=chatgpt.com">August 2025 report </a>from
the Gender-Based Violence Area of Responsibility (GBV AoR) \u201creported
severe disruption to women\u2019s specialized service centers, with the
majority either non-operational or only partially functioning,\u201d while
access to what remains of reproductive and mental health services is
fraught with danger.</p>
<h2>No safe shelters</h2>
<p>In the absence of formal systems, some organizations have sought
alternative justice and protection methods. Al-Ghunaimi, describes their
efforts.</p>
<p>\u201cWe tried to find alternative ways to protect abused women during the
war,\u201d she says. \u201cWe established a tent to shelter women facing
first-degree threats, meaning those at risk of being killed. We resorted
to temporary solutions like a mediation system instead of the
judiciary.\u201d This system, she explains, involves committees of respected
community figures, such as displacement center managers and family
elders\u2014to resolve conflicts and offer protection.</p>
<p>However, Al-Ghunaimi refuses to call these shelters completely
\u201csafe.\u201d In the presence of the occupation, there is no real safe place.
Recently, as this report was being written and despite a ceasefire, an <a href="https://www.facebook.com/z.ghonaimy/posts/pfbid036aAe2rejdUYoG3WxbnJfaqqNzkmUoWZQ7LLqdJ7DxGNWkkUrbgPcvNAv43tTmHTil">Israeli strike</a>
hit a house next to the Hayat Center\u2019s camp, destroying more than half
of it. While no one in the camp was physically harmed, the bitter trauma
of losing shelter was felt once again.</p>
<h2>A void of accountability</h2>
<p>International investigations into sexual violence in Gaza cannot
proceed without witnesses. Yet, those who might testify live under
constant fear, persistent threats, displacement, and deep psychological
trauma. </p>
<p>The relentless insecurity, compounded by the destruction of homes and
essential services, has made it nearly impossible for survivors to
safely come forward. This creates a staggering gap between the sheer
scale of the violations and the ability of human rights organizations to
document and pursue justice for them.</p>
<p>\u201cWe have collected numerous testimonies over the years, but we lack
witnesses willing to step forward,\u201d says Abdel Ghafour, deputy head of
the documentation unit at PCHR. \u201cThe silence forced by fear and social
stigma means that files on rape and sexual torture remain some of the
most challenging, and heartbreaking\u2014to work on. Without witnesses,
accountability remains almost entirely out of reach, and survivors
continue to bear the weight of these crimes alone.\u201d</p>
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